Monday, 28 January 2008

Political freedom

Citizens believe themselves to be free; that on election day they exercise their right to vote for whomever they truly want. But in reality, this is often far from the case. Many are enslaved by fears of the past; fears which critically condition the way they think about the present. Like tiny spiders, these fears creep into the corners of their mind, weaving cobwebs, influencing the way they perceive the present.

But enslavement to the past may otherwise manifest itself: Some are enslaved by loyalties to ancestors, who always voted "yellow", and therefore feel that by voting likewise, they somehow redeem their forefathers' debt.

By living the present political scenario through the ghosts of the past, they annihilate any sign of life from the political possibilities of the present. Worse again, others still opt to sell their political freedom to "the devil" himself. I refer to those unable to freely vote because they have made expedient pacts in return for political favours from people in power, favours they know in the depth of their souls they had no right to in the first place. In selling their souls to "the devil", they have sold their freedom; the freedom to vote according to their conscience for the common good of society.

They have sold their loyalties for their own immediate personal interests and in turn, cursed the good of the nation. I still yearn for the Maltese and Gozitans to recover their true political sovereignty and vote according to the real common good of society: Free from oppressive enslavement to the past and that of their personal interests.